[RexLewis85]

For me...it's hard to say why I collect. I don't know the exact reason for it. I know that when I was young, my parents bought me action figures pretty regularly(nothing too fancy, and never anything really expensive) I had a good number of G.I. Joes, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, X Men(the toybiz toyline from the animated series), Spawn, Transformers and things of that nature. I collected and played with my figures up until I turned about...11 I would say. Then my dad explained to me that I was too old to play with toys. Taking this into account I boxed up all my toys and gave them to my younger cousin. From then on throughout my teenage years I had nothing to do with action figures and opted to collect cds instead(I'm a lover of rock music) When I got out of high school, I got with a chick that I didn't particularly care about...well long story short I started looking for a distraction, so I began buying certain action figures...I think what really got me back into it was the release of the first Hellboy movie, and I bought all the figures from the movie. I also bought a DCSH Scarecrow figure and a ML Deathlok figure. I wasn't serious at this point you see...well this chick and I broke up. The habit dried up for a little while, until I got with what would become my wife. She saw what I had and began to buy me figures here and there. I got really big into collecting Batman stuff, Jurassic Park figures, and Transformers(thanks to the new movie) eventually I was spending alot of money on action figures...money we really didn't have. Long story short once again, my wife cheated on me...I had no idea why. Sometime after I left her she told me it was because she felt like the action figures meant more to me than she did. Which was a bullshit excuse. It made me feel bad and for awhile I didn't collect...I was ashamed. But I needed something to pull me through the heartbreak of losing my marriage. So I began to collect again...before things went bad between the wife and I, I had started collecting horror figures and G.I. Joes on top of the Batman figures. So I began to focus more on Joes and the horror figures I needed. After a certain point, I became ashamed of collecting G.I. Joe, and decided to get rid of the entire collection. I don't know why I became so ashamed, maybe it was because that was the main figure that caused my now ex wife to have a meltdown. Either way I stopped, and sold the collection. I began to focus my collecting more on Batman, especially The Dark Knight Movie Masters line. The horror collection was still in the background as well. Then I got with the most wonderful girl...she not only supported my collecting, but thought it was really cool in her words. A couple weeks ago I became interested in Marvel Universe figures thanks to the one guy in the Marvel Universe I really and truely loved. Deadpool. Since then it's kind of snowballed. I still collect Batman/DC figures, horror has taken a back seat however. I know that with trying to move in with my new fiancee(that's right guys I had to ask this amazing girl to marry me) I'm having to be very careful with my money. My fiancee, my daughter, and her daughter come first. It was really just a matter of getting my priorities straight. So in a little bit, after I spend a little more on MU and the upcoming Batman Legacy figures, I have to stop. For a little while, until I can get some money saved up for our apartment. Now you ask why...why do we collect...well for me, it's been different reasons at different times. Mostly however, I think it's an issue of comfort. It brings me comfort, and makes me remember those great times when I was a kid and my dad and I would go through the toy aisle and dad would take an active interest in the toys I was looking at. He would say things like, This guy looks cool, or do you have this one? I miss those times. So I guess that's really what's at the heart of it for me. Sorry this was so long guys...it's something I've needed to say for a long time.